Bad Dreams
by omg-wtf.com
Summary: A load of bollocks I wrote whilst bored, ill and half conscious. Enjoy. :)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, hey, hey! So for those of you wanting the next chapter of my BBT fic, Debt, I'll get working on that ASAP – sorry for the inexcusably long break, I've been avoiding the Internet monster and I guess I just forgot :P feeling pretty shitty atm too so I'll get started on writing and replying soon, in the meantimes, here's something I was just _dying_ to write, if you'll be so kind as to pardon the pun. (I've just finished book 7 and I'm loving MV!) Hope you enjoy!**

X

"Myrnin."

Claire couldn't stop the breathy whimper from escaping her. His touch, it made her react in ways she never thought she could. The way his body moulded so perfectly against hers; the torturously slow descent of his hand down her sweating body; the infuriating smirk she felt upon his lips as they pressed against her own. She couldn't think straight – didn't want to. All she could focus on was him, and the way he made her feel: alive.

His hand had glided over her hips, and was now resting on her upper thigh. She moaned at the sensation of his thumb making slow, sensual circles on her bare skin. "Myrnin, please."

The smirk grew wider, and she felt his fangs press down gently on her lower lip. She wriggled closer to him, desperately trying to move his hand closer to where she needed it, but he held her firmly in place. She opened her eyes, ready to protest, but was silenced as she met his gaze.

"Claire."

X

"Claire! Get up!"

"Huh..."

"Fine, be late for class, 'S' not my problem." Claire opened her eyes to the delightfully Goth face of Eve, scrunched up in mock anger. Mumbling, she reached back and hit her best friend in the face with a pillow.

"My make up! You bitch!" Eve shrieked, dashing out of the room with her hands shielding her face. Claire sniggered, and then realised the reason for her unwanted wake-up call.

"Oh, crap!"

Books were piled hurriedly into her battered, bloodstained old rucksack before she pulled on a pair of blue jeans and an old, black tee. She dashed down the stairs and stuffed her feet into her sneakers at the door, calling a goodbye to her fellow Glass House residents.

The (speed)walk to school was a short one, but it gave Claire a few minutes to remember that dream. The same dream, she realised with an inward groan, that she'd been having for the past few nights. And today was the day she had to face the source of the problem.

She'd admired Myrnin ever since their first meeting, when she was introduced to him as his new assistant. She'd even grown to care a great deal about him, after all they'd been through together. But it was only recently that this inconvenient crush had presented itself to her. Right before the dreams started. Right after she'd last been to work with him. And tonight, she had to face him.

Claire let out a sound of frustration as she jogged onto the TPU campus. Nobody was around to hear; class had started fifteen minutes ago. _Great, just another thing going wrong in the life of Claire. _She tried to distract herself from worries about Myrnin with worries about her upcoming Physics quiz, but in the end, Physics was a lot easier to figure out than these feelings bubbling up inside her.

X

Eve was snuggled up on the couch with her super-hot vampire boyfriend Michael. He still made her as nervous as a schoolgirl, but she'd never show it. Instead, she slammed a cushion into his face, just as Claire had done to her earlier.

"My make up, you bitch!" Michael cooed mockingly, ruffling her loose black hair.

Eve giggled. "So, you heard, then?"

"How could I not? Sounds like Claire's still having nightmares, huh?"

"Why do you say that?" Eve's smile faded. "She looked dead when I walked into the room."

"Funny, I thought heard her screaming last night. Must have just been my imagination."

"Yeah, maybe," Eve mused, but she was less than convinced. "I'll talk to her when she gets home from work tonight."

She couldn't worry any longer, though, as Michael leaned down and captured her Goth-red lips in a tender kiss.

X

School passed quickly, to Claire's utter dismay. Still, she was exhausted. She trudged reluctantly down the route from the University towards the entrance to Myrnin's lab in the alley by the Day House. It was a fairly long way, but Morganville wasn't the biggest town in Texas and she arrived sooner than she'd have liked. It was pretty dark, but the gold bracelet glinting on her wrist against the moonlight gave her a little reassurance as she gave an unconscious wave towards Granma Day's empty porch swing and headed down the narrow alleyway beside it.

"You're late," Myrnin chimed as soon as Claire's foot touched the ground at the bottom of the stairs.

"Sorry." She muttered, unable to look at him as she felt a hot blush flood her face, which he would surely notice.

"Is everything alright?" was the eccentric vampire's expected reply. "Look at me, Claire. What are you hiding?"

She faced him, but didn't look him in the eyes. He was wearing his usual, unusual old-fashioned clothing and a concerned frown. "No, I'm not. It's nothing; I'm just tired. What are we doing today?"

Myrnin was in front of her in a blur. "It's that Shane of yours, isn't it? Is he pestering you? I never liked that boy. Did he try to steal your honour, my dear?"

"NO!" Claire exclaimed, growing more and more uncomfortable. His proximity made her heart rate increase dramatically, and she cursed herself, because he'd notice that too. "Look, I've told you before, Shane's like a brother, okay? And nothing's happened to my honour! Why are you even asking?"

She turned away from him hastily and picked up an old, dusty book from an unsteady pile, pretending to study the cover.

"Oh, no reason," he said airily. "Bring that book over here, would you?"

X

Eve, Michael and Shane were all huddled together on the Glass House sofa, watching a scary zombie movie together. The two men were acting macho, pretending to be unimpressed and amused by the film, but Eve could see from her position between a cushion and Michael's chest that they both flinched when Claire walked into the room.

"Oh, Claire, it's just you. I mean - hey," Shane amended, acting cool.

Claire smiled. "Hey. If you guys don't mind, I've had a long day, so I think I'm gonna head to bed."

"'Kay," Michael called, eyes still glued to the screen.

"Night," offered Shane before turning back to the movie too.

Eve, though, stood and followed Claire upstairs, putting her hand on the door as Claire moved to close it.

"Oh, hey, Eve," said Claire in surprise. "What's up?"

"Can I talk to you, CB? Only for a minute, I swear."

Claire frowned, but opened the door wider, inviting her friend in. She closed it behind them and went to sit on the bed next to Eve.

"What's wrong?"

Eve looked at her, mirroring her concerned frown. "Nothing, at least I hope not...it's just...Michael says he's been hearing you, screaming, in the night. You would tell me, if you were still having nightmares, right, honey?"

Eve looked so worried and upset then that Claire hardly registered her embarrassment as she realised Michael's mistake. "Oh, Eve!" she laughed, pulling the older teen into a hug. "Of course I would! You don't need to worry about me."

"Then – the screaming –"

Claire blushed. "Different kind of screaming," she mumbled, looking away from those huge eyes that seemed like they could see into her mind.

There was a moment of silence, and Claire looked up to see her best friend had a big, excited grin on her face, covered by a pale, shaky hand. "No. Way."

"Don't give me that look! You've had that kind of dream before, too, right?"

Eve ignored her, instead grabbing her defenceless arm and shaking it. "Tell, tell, tell! Shane, right?"

"No! Why does everyone think-nevermind." Claire sighed. "I'm not telling."

"Not even your best friend?" Those heavily lined eyes grew pleading, and Claire couldn't say no to Eve's puppy-dog eyes.

With a reluctant sigh, she told.

"MYRNIN?!" Eve shrieked, looking fascinated and ignoring Claire's shushing gestures. "You've been having sexy fantasies about Myrnin?"

"For God's sake, Eve, will you keep your voice down?" Claire hissed. "Yes, I have, okay? I don't know what it is, but think I have a crush on him," she admitted.

"He's your boss, Claire! That's so hot! Does he know?"

"Of course not! If he did, would I even be alive right now?" she didn't give Eve time to answer that. "Besides, nothing's going to happen. He said he wasn't attracted to me before all that stuff with Kim."

"That was a while ago, CB. Things change," Eve replied with a knowing look. "I'll grill you some more tomorrow, you look like you need your sleep."

She skipped merrily out the door with a wave, and Claire had no difficulty drifting off to dreamland.


	2. Chapter 2

***SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS* only barely, though...**

**I is on book 11 of MV now. Wooooo! Hope there's more to come D: Still love Myrnin no matter what stupid stuff he's done :P **

**Tawny: I know, the Shane thing's weird, but I don't know how else to write him in a positive light without him being Claire's boyfriend :P**

**Seeing as I do not plan on planning this fic, there will be no OMG THEYRE ALL GUNNA DIEEEEE plot (in fact there'll be no plot at all, this is entirely BS), but I hope you like it all the same!**

**X**

"We're getting married!"

Claire stared at the couple, who made up one half of the Glass house, in disbelief. Their high-spirited grins began to fade after a few moments.

"Claire...? Shane?"

Claire glanced sideways at her other housemate, and noted that his mouth looked unnaturally large when it was hanging open in shock. She held a hand to her own mouth self-consciously.

"You're really just gonna let this silence stretch on?" Eve was frowning now, arms folded, foot tapping, and Michael stood slightly behind her with a violent blush staining his pale face.

Claire shook her head to escape her daze. "Wow. This is...really something."

"That's the best you can do?"

"Nice ring," Shane offered.

"_Fabulous _ring. This isn't really how I expected it to go, Mike – you said they'd be supportive!"

"We are!" Claire and Shane chimed.

"Eve, this is fantastic news, really. We're happy for you. It's just – so sudden!"

Eve seemed appeased. "I know, right? But it's so great! At first I was like, whoa Mikey, aren't we a bit young? But it's Morganville. When you find real love in Morganville, you can't take that for granted."

Michael twisted Eve around and pulled her up into a gentle, loving kiss. Shane made retching noises, trying to make Claire laugh, but she was too deep in thought.

Love wasn't something Claire had thought about much, in her 17 years of life. She'd had small crushes before she'd arrived in Morganville, and she'd had considerably larger crushes in Morganville, but she'd never considered making those crushes something bigger. Suddenly her future looked bleak. With no chance of ever leaving Morganville, there didn't seem to be any chance of real love, either – not the love that she saw between Michael and Eve. She knew better than to hope for that with Myrnin, but she hadn't met anyone at TPU that could measure up to him, either.

Still, though, she managed to plaster on a bright smile, and feigned enthusiasm and delight to make her best friends happy, because they were the only family she could have.

X

A few days later, and Claire was due to visit the lab once more. She'd considered taking the day off, what with the exhaustion of studying and Eve's plans for the wedding plans (Planception. Claire had joked, before it stopped being fun – a few hours in), but decided that she deserved a little eye candy after all her hard work. Plus, her mind yearned to learn something interesting and new – in this town, only Myrnin could offer that.

She took the portal, because things always seemed to go horribly wrong when she walked, and she was under strict orders from Eve: "Don't die, bitch, I don't want to find another Maid of Honour". Uncomfortable as it was, the portal was safer.

Or so she thought, until she stepped through. Myrnin's bedroom door was wide open, and he was just finished showering, from the sight of him in the doorway. He'd managed to wrap a towel around his lower half before she turned her head in his direction, but looked very surprised to see her.

There was a horribly awkward silence before Myrnin cleared his throat and said, "I see you decided to come early today."

"Yeah."

"And you also chose to travel via portal."

"Looks like it," Claire's shoes quickly caught and held her attention.

"It's a surprise to me that you can catch me so terribly off guard."

"Yeah, it's a surprise to me too," Claire muttered, turning redder every second. "Can we move on now?"

"I find it fascinating how reactive humans are to the slightest things," Myrnin said, ignoring her. "Your heart rate is alarmingly fast. I wonder why, specifically, that is?" He was closer now; she could sense it, without even looking up.

"Please put some clothes, on, Myrnin."

She heard him say, "Right," but when she looked up, he was still there, standing before her with just a towel hanging loosely around his hips. He looked pensive. She took the opportunity to quickly eye him up; his naked frame was pale, and his skin looked like marble; she could see clearly the lean muscles of his arms, and his slender torso. The towel dipped teasingly low under his navel. He leant casually against the wall, perilously close to where she stood, in front of the now-closed portal.

"The obscene manner in which you so subtly ogle my naked body would suggest to me that your elevated heart rate is down to none other than simple sexual arousal." He said it so casually that she almost thought she'd imagined it.

Then she had an internal freak-out. _Oh Holy Shit What The Hell Do I Do Now?!_ Claire did not register Myrnin's playful smirk. If she had, she'd have made some snarky reply, and perhaps that smirk would not have turned into a mask of pure shock.

"I was only joking, love," he said slowly.

Claire fainted.


	3. Chapter 3

**Better bloody hurry up with that next book, Rachel Caine. (Did I mention how awesome her first name is?) I HATE ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO SAY MYRNIN COULD NEVER LOVE CLAIRE. Killjoys.  
**

**Holy shit, I think this website gave me a virus.**

**Anyway. It's short, but it's something.**

X

When Claire woke up, the first thing she was aware of was that she was on a bed, and Myrnin was sitting on the edge (dressed now, in an outfit that would have looked perfectly normal without the magenta waistcoat), twisted so that he could hold her hands. Her neck felt weak when she tried to lift her head, so she let it fall back onto the fluffy pillow. She met his worried eyes, and saw relief flash briefly through them. His cool hand reached out and brushed her face, and she had to fight to keep in a high-pitched squeal. His fingertips on her cheek...as soon as they touched, electric danced on her skin and sent a pleasant jolt through her entire body, especially to her heart and the pit of her stomach. She wrestled with the squeal of excitement building up in her chest, that feeling that she'd heard of and yet never before experienced, and it escaped in the form of a shudder and a sharp inhalation. An uncontrollable grin graced her features. _This is what it feels like. Oh-my-God-he's-touching-me-and-it's electrifying-and-I-just-might-melt._

Claire did the happy-dance in her head until she remembered exactly how she'd ended up in that position.

"Oh-Oh God..."

She strained to sit up, but he was already standing, and his hands moved to her shoulders to firmly hold her down.

"Ah-ah, little Claire. You'll get dizzy. Rest awhile longer." His voice sounded playful, but his face was deadly serious. She got up anyway.

"Is this-"

"My bedroom? Why, yes, it is," he interrupted, and as nonchalant as he seemed, she saw the slight blush stain his pale face.

Actually, she'd already known it was his room, because the clutter, disorder and general mayhem made that much obvious. Discarded clothes were strewn all over the furniture, which was scratched and dented, probably from his frequent fits of rage. The bed, she noticed with a blush, was large and very soft. She'd been able to tell just from the feel of the mattress and bed linen around her that the usual occupant slept fitfully. She tried not to think about what that implied.

Following her out of the room, Myrnin said "You were only unconscious for five minutes or so," as if the silence made him uncomfortable, rather than to reassure her. He was still hovering round her, though, and through the haze of hormones and embarrassment in her mind, that gave her a little courage. He was taking care of her.

Stepping through the portal with a shy wave goodbye, Claire decided it was time to channel her inner Eve.

X

In Claire's absence, Eve had rounded up Shane to help with the earliest stages of planning for her super-awesome-Goth-vampire-wedding. An entire hour of the two of them shooting jibes at one another from across the kitchen table - they so rarely got to spend time alone together, sometimes they forgot how great it could be to just hang out one-on-one, like old times.

This, however, was not one of those times.

Shane had ribbon tied around his head and was blissfully ignoring each and every one of Eve's demands. Eve herself was huffing and sighing and getting a major headache from the numbers and lists in front of her. Why, oh why, was she stuck with Slacker Shane, instead of Claire the Human Calculator?

As if on cue, Claire stumbled through the doorway and plonked herself down onto the only seat not covered in wedding-related junk.

Eve blinked a few times, clearing her head of all the different shades of red and all the different types of roses swirling around in her mind. Then, she almost cried in relief.

"Oh Claire Bear, it's been awful! Please, please say you're not too tired to help?

Shane scowled. "Hey, I'm not that bad!"

"You are."

"Yeah, I guess I am." He went back to making a house out of the card Eve had ordered to make invitations.

Claire knocked it over and shuffled them into a neat pile, ignoring Shane. "I can help. I could use some girl talk, while we're at it."

The girls looked pointedly at Shane.

"Fine!" he yelled, looking upset, before strolling to the fridge, grabbing a beer and strolling out the door with an amused smirk on his face.

The girls turned to one another and blurted out their problems.

"I don't know which centrepiece to get, the evil bunny figurines or the decaying fruit bowls!"

"I need your help to seduce my bipolar vampire boss!"

X


	4. Chapter 4

**Finished book 13 this morning! AAAH! Wishing upon a star for a 14th book... **

**Feeling even crappier than usual right now, so I'm gonna finish the second half of this chapter and upload it! Writing's quite therapeutic, isn't it? **

**X**

"I guess you win." Eve grinned and pushed her bridal magazines off the table in one sweep, resting her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands. "Spill."

Claire fidgeted, unsure how to explain. "I...well, when I got to the lab today...it was...and...ugh." She started over. "I think he might know that I like him."

"How?" Eve demanded.

"I kind of...I saw him in a towel and I fainted," Claire confessed, hanging her head as the inevitable giggles erupted from her best friend.

She looked up when it stopped, and Eve's face was serious, her brow furrowed in thought. Of course Eve would take this seriously. That's why Claire had asked for her help, after all. She almost saw the lightbulb flash above the Goth girl's head a moment later.

"I have a plan that guarantees a 61% chance of success and involves great sacrifice on your part."

Of course. "What do I have to do?"

X

The week dragged on for Claire. School was easy, and so were the wedding plans – her only real involvement was to calculate costs; Eve asked for her opinions, but made decisions regardless of them. Still, she got more say than Michael, at least.

But finally, her next evening due at the lab arrived, and Claire hurried home from class to prepare. With Eve and Michael at work, and Shane who-knows-where, she was alone. The anxiety and anticipation had merged to form uncomfortable butterflies in her tummy, and a clammy sweat down her back. She put on some toast, to quell the butterflies, and went to shower; the toast was burnt when she clambered back downstairs in her underwear. She smothered it in butter and ate it anyway.

And then she had a panic attack on the kitchen floor, because she really wasn't one for grand gestures and to her, Eve's plan seemed exactly that.

_Cosplay!_

Steampunk: the apparent theme of Myrnin's lab, Eve seemed to really like the AU Victiorian style. She even pieced together the outfit from items in her own wardrobe. Just thinking about it made Claire shudder.

A suffocating brown corset (Eve's) over a puffy white blouse (Claire's), with a prim skirt to her ankles (to her embarrassment, Eve's), and brown ankle boots (Eve's) complete with a neo Victorian pocket watch (Eve's) and goggles (Eve's Eve's Eve's). There were more accessories to choose from, all of which Claire refused, because she felt stupid enough already.

And yet she knew that Eve wasn't just trying to embarrass her – Myrnin would appreciate this, in the very least as a joke; he was used to Claire's teasing of his unusual tastes. So she should get up off the floor and put it on. No one but Myrnin would see her.

Great, _that_ made her less nervous.

Eventually she did get up, because she was only in her underwear and her hair was still wet and it was cold, and the toast crumbs had gotten all over her. And because a teeny-tiny part of her was almost guilty for being late to the lab. And excited for Myrnin's reaction to Eve's first attempt at eliciting any response in him at all.

X

When Claire stepped into the lab, avoiding all reflective surfaces between her room and the portal (no way was she _walking _all the way, dressed like that), the lab was even more of a state than usual. Myrnin was nowhere to be seen yet, which Claire was thankful for. A quick glance over the room decided for her that the number one priority for today was to get the place cleaned up. Dust wasn't a problem, since everything was moved around so much, but there was an acrid chemical smell in the air and she wasn't at all sure where Bob was.

Books, first. So many books. She'd given up trying to properly organise them; Myrnin always wrecked any system she put into place. Instead, she set them against the walls, in short piles so they wouldn't topple over. She was doing that when she heard him behind her.

"Ah, you're early!" _Right _behind her. "A first time for everything, hm?"

Claire controlled the instinct to whirl round with the book in her hand and slam it in his face. She just stood up, took a step back because he was _so close,_ and watched his expression.

She almost thought he wouldn't notice, but just as he was about to say something, he stopped and did a double-take. Her skin tingled where his eyes roamed over her, human speed, taking the outfit in. She resisted the urge to cross her arms and hide.

After what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few seconds, he said, "Um – oh my. I must say that your choice in attire today is...most appealing." And then he looked her up and down once more, and she almost fainted again.

"I thought you might like it," she answered, sounding cocky and confident to her own ears, but he didn't seem to be listening to her. She recalled more of Eve's advice and mirrored his body language, which would have been difficult, trying to keep up with his usual mile-a-minute speed. But he was still for a change.

Then, suddenly, he cleared his throat and was back to normal, carelessly messing up her neat piles of books and ordering her around. She gave a small smile and got to work.

X


	5. Chapter 5

**What? I FINALLY got onto the website?! What in the heavens...  
Thanks, fanfictionsupport, for all your *ahem* wonderful help. ._.**

**Okay, sorry for the late (understatement of the century?) update, before we begin though, let me just have a Morganville rant. **

**I made a Tumblr and I'm lost as to how to use it so I just looked at some Morganville stuff on it and saw a load of people's opinions, and I just want to say how I think the series should go. **

**I think Eve should die (Boy, that escalated quickly). Eve is one of my favourite characters, but I just think that her becoming a vampire is just her worst fear and would just be making all the vamps happy, which isn't like Eve at all, and it would be tragic for Michael to have to watch her grow old. SO THE ONLY WAY IS FOR HER TO DIE, MWUAHAHA (sorry Eve. It'd be a glamorous and dramatic death of course)**

**I think Michael and Amelie should get close. I think they'd bond over their mourning...they might even end up together. It'd be twisted and not cute at all, but I feel like that would just make things that much more interesting, despite making very little sense. Plus, Michael is so much like Sam so it's believable that Amelie might be fond of him, and Michael seems like he'd prefer a lady rather than a girl, like Eve. **

**I want Claire X Myrnin, yes. Not just because I adore him and we're supposed to relate to her, but because I feel like they fit. Their friendship is great but I feel like it should develop into something more...to me, they're how I see soulmates. I know in one of the books he said he wasn't physically attracted to her, and she made a promise to Shane, but I feel like those things were wrong. It's like Rachel Caine has created these characters and now they're alive, you know? They have their own minds, and the way I see them, I don't feel as though they would really be doing what she's written them as doing. Myrnin is entitled to have someone after Ada! Claire is good for him, and Myrnin wouldn't be perfect for Claire but that's what makes them them (I feel like Claire is making Myrnin more human and he's slowly falling in love with her, not just her intelligence). Not all novels have to have the perfect, healthy romance! Or am I just weird? :/**

**I like Oliver. But, I feel that his relationship with Amelie DOES cheapen her love for Sam. Hell, it'd be even worse with Michael. But what I want to happen with Michael would be a gradual and yet unexpected thing. Oliver and Amelie's kiss was too soon after Sam's death and since when did he suddenly care about her? Plus the Amelie I imagine just wouldn't do that. Oliver should be alone, I feel – he has softer sides to him, everyone does, but in the end Oliver isn't a lovey-dovey kind of guy. Maybe he could have a one-sided love for Amelie, but he hates that he loves her because he thinks it makes him weak and she would never love him too, so he just treats her badly and tries to quell his feelings. OLIVER JUST WANTS A FUCK OKAY**

**Jason and Monica and all those less-important-but-still-quite-important characters, I like how they have back stories and other sides, but God, they can't just go from super-evil to super-sorry and back again at the drop of a hat! Let them be them! They don't revolve around the Glass House's needs!**

**And finally, I feel like Shane X Eve works really well. The way he protects her, and they have banter and chemistry, and she protects him, too, sometimes. They'd connect over their backgrounds, because it seems like Michael had it easy compared to them. They'd argue loads but I think that's just what makes them a normal human couple, plus shows that they have passion. With Shane and Claire, it felt unrealistic, too convenient. They don't have chemistry and it's like they started dating because she thought he was hot and he...well, to be honest, I don't understand his reasons. After being described as a ladies' man, I don't think he'd just suddenly change like that, especially for someone as mousy as Claire, and seeing as they'd just met. (Though in my head I see Eve and Shane as being best friends foreeeever, and maybe having a family when they're all adulty-like (BEFORE EVE DIES MWUAHAHAHA – Yeah Shane's quite unlucky, have the mother of his kids die, that'd be interesting), but not having this teenage romance. **

**I don't know, there's of course loads of faults in my ideal little Morganville, and I guess it's quite ginormously unlikely that all those characters would end up in all these perfect little pairings (they DEFINITELY NEVER EVER WOULD), but I just really like the idea. Sometimes it hurts. **** Yes, that makes me weird, but it's nice to escape real life.**

**Omg I wrote this rant like months ago how long have I left this story, sorry, sorry 3 **

**X**

"You look stunning. Absolutely fabulous. Divine."

"You're not even _looking!"_

Of course she wasn't looking. At first, Claire had found it easy to be enthusiastic about helping her best friend to choose her wedding dress. She'd even been excited to try on bridesmaid dresses. However, seven hours in and no less than forty-one dresses later, Claire was slumped across the only couch in the small fitting room of Morganville's only bridalwear store (though, to credit the small town, it was a pretty impressive store. Eve had hundreds more dresses left to try on).

"Am too."

"I'm looking right at you. You're facing the wall and if you don't move your left leg that dress will rip soon and you'll still have to pay for it."

Claire turned.

Eve was a vision. Her makeup was almost completely melted off, her hair an absolute mess, her face somehow both murderous and weary at the same time. But the dress. Claire had thought that every single dress she'd seen Eve in had been beautiful – except that horrid puff-sleeved pale pink number – but this one.

"It's perfect."

"You said that about the last one."

"No, really, it's perfect. Go look in the mirror."

Eve must have seen Claire's awed expression, because her eyes widened as she turned a dramatic, slow circle to face the full-length mirror behind her.

The dress was neither black nor lacy, as she had always envisioned it to be. Her back was not exposed, and neither was her front. There was no slit to her thighs, and there was no netting on the skirt.

It was white, long and ordinary; the hem met her ankles and trailed further behind her. It was cinched at the waist, with a sweetheart neckline that exposed her pale arms and décolletage. The dress was exactly the kind of thing Eve hated – sweet, simple.

And somehow she loved it.

"We could get some skulls or something sewn in," came Claire's haggard voice.

"No," Eve said softly. "It's perfect. We can put skulls on something else."

_Well thank fuck for that,_ thought Claire. She picked herself up and stood next to Eve in the mirror. They'd already picked out her dress – a bloodred ballgown that Claire had had no part in choosing. They looked pretty fancy, for them.

"The veil, maybe?" Claire joked. Eve proceeded to weigh the pros and cons of PVA glue as opposed to the expensive stuff for sticking rhinestone skulls to the veil and tablecloths. They changed back, Eve still prattling on, and made their orders to the store owner for the dresses to be taken in or let out respectively.

It had been a long day, but Eve was finally appeased, and Claire was cheering up too.

X

"Order up!" Shane called from the kitchen. He and Michael had been placed in charge of dinner-making duties after Claire and Eves' delayed return to the Glass House. They worried.

The kitchen door swung open, revealing a flustered Shane looking very pleased with himself, balancing three plates on one arm. Michael followed, holding one plate because he was sensible and because Shane had already taken the others. He did not even feel a little bit emasculated and definitely did not shoot daggers at Shane's stupid, broad back.

"Tacos! Thank you, O Supreme Waiter Shane," said Eve. Michael didn't glower.

"Thanks," giggled Claire. Shane bowed before taking his seat next to a definitely not sullen-looking Michael.

"We got our dresses."

"Yeah, about time, too. You conveniently missed all the other household duties, and therefore are placed in charge of washing-up duties."

Eve stuck her tongue out, Claire crossed her arms and Michael stared at his food not angrily.

"Whatever, man. You guys need to get your tuxes sorted out too; I've already picked them out so you just need to get fitted."

"Hella no!" Shane cried. Michael wasn't listening, as he was too busy shovelling tacos into his mouth and not sulking.

"Hella YES."

"I'm gonna look so girly," complained Shane, hunched in admission of defeat.

"Trust me on this, okay? I even got Claire's professional opinion. You'll look great." Noone seemed to notice Michael's lack of participation, which definitely did not contribute to his not-unhappy mood.

"D'you promise?"

"I promise."

"Claire?"

Claire looked up from frowning at her taco, contemplating the best method of eating it without getting grease down her chin. "Yeah?"

"Do you think I'll look good in my tux?"

"Sure."

Shane seemed reassured, taking a manly bite out of his third taco, which he had stolen from Michael's plate. Michael didn't want it anyway, so there.

X

"Hey, Claire?"

It was shortly after dinner, and Claire had been shouldered with washing-up duties after Eve remembered Michael's existence. She was looking very sorry for herself as she stood on the step that allowed her to wash up without having to reach for the taps. She would not allow anybody to make fun of the step.

"Oh, hi, Shane, come to help?"

Shane snorted. Claire rolled her eyes and waited for him to talk.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the wedding."

"Yeah, yeah, whole town wants to kill us all, yada yada."

"No, I mean, the actual wedding."

Claire stopped scrubbing the pan she was holding, and gave Shane her full attention. "You want to talk about bands and flowers and stuff?"

Shane looked horrified. "No! No. I was wondering if you wanted to go together."

"We are, aren't we? I thought we were all going in Michael's car."

The older teen looked like he was about to facepalm. He sighed. "I mean, _together _together. Like a date?"

"A date?" Claire squeaked. Why the hell was Shane asking her on a date?!

"Yeah. I haven't got one, you haven't got one, two birds, you know?"

Claire ignored the potential insult behind that explanation, turning back to her pan. "That sounds great, but I was actually already thinking of someone to ask."

"You were?"

"Yeah."

"_You _were?"

She gritted her teeth. "It's not _that _surprising."

"Right. Sorry. So who's the lucky guy?"

"Well, he's definitely not you."

"Ouch." He grinned.

Having finally finished the washing up, Claire flung the soapy sponge in the general direction of Shane's head and dried her hands. She wondered if she should even be thinking what she was thinking, let alone saying it to Shane. But she blurted it out anyway. "It's Myrnin."

There was a short pause, just long enough to be awkward, for Claire to regret saying it and to regret ever being born, before Shane said "You'll have to be more specific, Claire. There's a helluva lotta Myrnins around here."

She laughed. "My boss Myrnin."

"Oh, him? I always thought his name was 'crazy'."

"Hey, shut up!" she laughed. "He's not _bad _crazy."

"That is true. Not like he's ever tried to kill you, or anything."

The conversation had suddenly turned serious, and Claire's smile faded. "Everyone in this town's tried to kill me. No point blaming just him."

Shane got a lot closer then, right in front of her, bent slightly so he could look into her eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt."

She felt defensive then, but resisted the urge to fold her arms and turn her face. "I won't," she said softly.

He didn't look any happier.

"It'll be safer at the wedding than at the lab, so there's no need to worry." She wondered if it was a bad idea to bring up how dangerous it was for her to be alone with Myrnin at the lab. To distract him, she reached up around Shane's shoulders and pulled him down into a hug. He didn't move for a few counts, but then, to her relief, wrapped his humongous arms around her and sighed.

"I guess it's okay, then."

"Gee, thanks for your permission." She pushed him away playfully and headed upstairs, unable to look back.

_That was the most eventful day (that did not involve violence) I have ever had_, was her last thought as she fell to sleep that night.


End file.
